Electrode additive and an electrode comprising said electrode additive

Abstract

An electrode additive comprising an electrochemically active material in a form of one-dimensional molecular chain is disclosed wherein the electrochemically active material is contained inside a nanotube-formed conductive shell material. An electrode comprising said electrode additive, and the uses of said electrode additive and said electrode are also disclosed.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrode comprising an electrode additive comprising an electrochemically active material in a form of a one-dimensional molecular sulfur chain and a carbon nanotube-formed conductive shell material, wherein the electrochemically active material is contained inside the carbon nanotube-formed conductive shell material, wherein the carbon nanotube has an inner diameter of 0.8-2 nm and the one dimensional molecular sulfur chain exhibits a zigzag and/or linear configuration. 
     
     
       2. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the carbon nanotube is doped with nitrogen or boron. 
     
     
       3. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the content of the electrochemically active material in the electrode additive is 1-50 wt. % based on the weight of the electrode additive. 
     
     
       4. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the content of the electrode additive in the electrode is 1-70 wt. % based on the weight of the electrode. 
     
     
       5. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that in addition to the electrode additive, the electrode further comprises an electrode active material usable in an energy storage system and/or an energy conversion system. 
     
     
       6. The electrode of  claim 5 , characterized in that the electrode active material is a sulfur-containing material is selected from the group consisting of elemental sulfur, sulfur-carbon composite, sulfurized polymer, sulfurized polyacrylonitrile, Li 2 S-carbon composite, and metal sulfides. 
     
     
       7. The electrode of  claim 5  , characterized in that the electrode active material is a silicon-containing material, a metal chalcogenide and/or lithium titanate. 
     
     
       8. A battery comprising the electrode of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       9. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the carbon nanotube is selected from the group consisting of a single-walled carbon nanotube, a double-walled carbon nanotube, and a multi-walled carbon nanotube having 3-6 walls. 
     
     
       10. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the content of the electrochemically active material in the electrode additive is 5-20 wt. % based on the weight of the electrode additive. 
     
     
       11. The electrode of  claim 1 , characterized in that the content of the electrode additive in the electrode is 20-40 wt. %, based on the weight of the electrode.